Heppler said he was considering a run for Kalamazoo County sheriff earlier this year, but decided against it. "It's a lot of work and a lot of expense," said Heppler, who is police chief in Augusta. He was first elected to the county board in 2002 and said he has enjoyed the work he has done on the board.

Pominville said he has "all the respect in the world for Jeff and what he has done." But he has decided to run because that's what he said he would do in January when the board picked him to replace Deb Buchholtz, who stepped down in December. Pominville was voted as a finalist by a 8-7 vote of the board. He was then elected by a unanimous consent vote by the commissioners.

Novak interviewed for the seat vacated by Buchholtz and received the seven other votes.

At the time of the interview, Novak said he was nonpartisan, but he has since decided to run as a Democrat. He said he looked into running without party affiliation, but said that it would have required extra petition signatures and he would have been placed at the bottom of the ballot.

Novak, 47, has taught social studies at Parchment Middle School since 1990 and lives in Cooper Township.

Correction, April 12 9:15 p.m.: An earlier version of this story said that Pominville was voted in with a 8-7 vote. That was actually a pre-vote before the board unanimously approved Pominville's appointment.